The present invention relates to a passport having an anti-counterfeit ID chip embedded in the passport body, the ID chip storing a photograph (head shot) information of the passport owner so as to prevent counterfeit of the passport.
In general, a passport is a document that certifies the identity and the nationality of the passport holder who is traveling to a foreign country or returning therefrom, and it further asks for protection of and requests for availability of facilities for the passport holder in a foreign country.
Those not in possession of a passport issued by the foreign minister or consul are prohibited from leaving a country or entering another country.
The conventional passport merely contains the passport owner""s personal information, passport information, and a photograph and the like printed on the passport body for identifying the passport owner.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 11-198573 discloses a face photograph verification system which prevents the fraudulent use or forgery of the photograph on a passport or an identification card and the like.
Recently, however, the forging of passports have become cleverer, and in the case of Japan, the number of foreigners attempting to enter the country using cunningly forged passports has increased rapidly. Along with such trend, the number of crimes caused by illegal aliens residing within the country has also increased.
Currently, when a traveler travels to or returns from a foreign country, the traveler presents his/her passport at the embarkation/disembarkation check gate at the airport. The officer at the embarkation/disembarkation check gate simply visually confirms the information printed on the passport such as the personal information, the passport information and the photograph for identification, and judges whether the passport is a counterfeit passport or not. Accordingly, the check for forged passports performed by the officer at the check gate is not sufficient, and it is difficult for officers to clamp down on illegal immigrants etc. at the embarkation/disembarkation check gate of the airport.
Moreover, the face photograph verification system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 11-198573 teaches providing to a passport or identification card with face photographs a two-dimensional bar code representing the face photograph data, recreating the photograph data through a bar code reader, and comparing the face photograph shown on the screen and the face photograph printed on the passport or card for verification of the photograph.
The object of the present invention is to provide a passport with an anti-counterfeit ID chip, the ID chip having a size of a particle embedded in the passport body and recording the photograph information of the passport owner that can be compared with the identification photograph being printed on the passport body, the photograph information of the passport owner recorded in the ID chip capable of being displayed on a screen using a dedicated ID chip reader. According to the present invention, the officer at the embarkation/disembarkation check gate of an international airport can visually compare the identification photograph printed on the passport body with the photograph information of the passport owner read from the ID chip and displayed on the screen, thereby confirming that the passport holder is indeed the true passport owner. Moreover, the officer can determine whether the passport is forged or not by comparing the identification photograph printed on the passport body with the photograph information of the passport owner stored in the ID chip and displayed on the screen, thus strengthening the check on counterfeit passports at the embarkation/disembarkation check gate and thereby ensuring security. Therefore, the passport with an anti-counterfeit ID chip of the present invention enables officers to clamp down on illegal immigrants etc. at the check gate of the airport.
The passport with an anti-counterfeit ID chip according to the present invention for certifying the identity and nationality of a passport holder entering and departing a foreign country having an identification photograph printed thereto for confirming the passport owner comprises a passport body and a particle-like micro ID chip embedded in the passport body storing at least an identification photograph information comparable with said identification photograph printed on the passport body.
According to the present passport with an anti-counterfeit ID chip, the ID chip is embedded in a sheet of paper constituting the page on which the identification photograph of the passport owner is printed in the passport body.
According to the present passport with an anti-counterfeit ID chip, the ID chip is embedded in an appropriate position in a sheet of paper constituting the page on which the identification photograph of the passport owner is printed in the passport body.
According to the present passport with an anti-counterfeit ID chip, the ID chip is embedded in the photograph surface in a sheet of paper constituting the page on which the identification photograph of the passport owner is printed in the passport body.
According to another example of the present passport with an anti-counterfeit ID chip, the ID chip is embedded in a front cover, a back cover, or any appropriate sheet of paper constituting a page other than the page on which the identification photograph of the passport owner is printed in the passport body.
According to yet another example of the present passport with an anti-counterfeit ID chip, the number of ID chips embedded in the passport body is one or more than one.